Today, we are proud to present our annual HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction at a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. The HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction, which include the Frist Humanitarian Award, the HCA Healthcare Innovators Award and the HCA Healthcare Excellence in Nursing Award, celebrate the organization’s positive impact on patients, colleagues and communities by recognizing extraordinary individuals who exemplify HCA Healthcare’s culture and values.

The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes the highest achievements in serving others; the Innovators Award recognizes creative new ideas for enhancing quality of care and efficiency; and the Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes the highest levels of performance in the field of nursing.

Frist Humanitarian Award Recipients 

The Frist Humanitarian Award, created in honor of HCA Healthcare co-founder Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr. (1910-1998) in 1971, recognizes individuals whose work and lives embody the humanitarian principles upon which HCA Healthcare was founded. Those honored have demonstrated a level of commitment and care that goes beyond everyday acts of kindness and inspire others with their compassion, dedication and spirit.

Frist Humanitarian Award employee and volunteer recipients receive a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 gift to a charity of their choice, while the physician recipient receives a $20,000 gift to the charity of their choice.

Recipients of the annual Frist Humanitarian Award are:

• Faridah Nabukenya, RN, a senior staff nurse at The Harley Street Clinic in London, England, part of HCA Healthcare UK
• S.M.A Zaheed Hassan, MD, a burn surgeon at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital of Augusta
• Mark B. Holmgren, a volunteer supervisor at Medical City Heart & Spine Hospitals in Dallas, Texas

“The recipients of the Frist Humanitarian Award go above and beyond to serve others, both within and outside of our hospitals,” said Hazen. “Their dedication to philanthropy, volunteerism and community service epitomize the humanitarian principles established by our founders.”

Faridah Nabukenya
The Harley Street Clinic (London, England)

Faridah Nabukenya, RN, is a senior staff nurse at The Harley Street Clinic, part of HCA Healthcare UK. Since starting as an oncology nurse in 2016, Nabukenya has made a lasting impact on her patients, peers and community.

After her son was diagnosed with colon cancer, Faridah orchestrated the delivery of medical equipment to the Ugandan hospital where her son received medical care. The supplies also provided ongoing use for future patients of the facility.

To honor her late son’s dreams of being a teacher, Nabukenya opened a school for orphaned children in Uganda, providing dormitories, schoolbooks and uniforms to the students.

S.M.A Zaheed Hassan, MD
Doctors Hospital of Augusta (Augusta, Georgia)

S.M.A Zaheed Hassan, MD, a burn surgeon at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital of Augusta, has touched hundreds of thousands of lives throughout his career.

In addition to his role at Doctors Hospital of Augusta, Dr. Hassan holds leadership roles at multiple burn patient advocacy and research foundations.

Dr. Hassan’s care for the psychosocial needs of burn patients extends across the globe.

With more than 23 years of support through burn camps, burn survivor reunions, treatment of unfunded burn patients and the creation of much-needed skin banks and donor programs worldwide.

Mark B. Holmgren
Medical City Heart & Spine Hospitals (Dallas, Texas)

Mark B. Holmgren has given more than 5,900 hours of volunteer service over the past 14 years. From the start of his volunteering, Holmgren has excelled at providing immediate reassurance and anticipating patient needs.

In his role as a volunteer supervisor, he is responsible for onboarding new volunteers and helping find opportunities to improve patient and guest experience.

Outside of his role at Medical City Heart & Spine Hospitals, Holmgren serves as parliamentarian on the Medical City Dallas Auxiliary Board of Directors and volunteers alongside his family through their church and a non-profit organization that works with veterans to raise awareness of mental health issues.

HCA Healthcare Innovators Award Recipient

HCA Healthcare was founded with the goal of unlocking numerous possibilities for patients, colleagues and communities. Created in 2010, the HCA Healthcare Innovators Award recognizes innovative thinkers, like the organization’s founders Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., Mr. Jack Massey and Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Frist, Jr., who help to improve nursing operations, engage physicians and generate growth. The Innovators Award recipient receives a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice.

Judy Kitchens
St. David’s North Austin Medical Center (Austin, Texas)

The 2023 Innovators Award recipient is Judy Kitchens, a perinatal quality manager at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Her unique use of technology has been critical to the success of St. David’s Women’s Center of Texas, a part of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center. Using her diverse background in analytics and healthcare administration, Kitchens created the Women’s Center Daily Dashboard, a customizable daily report that compiles important unit data and trends. The tool allows both clinical and non-clinical leaders to quickly assess throughput of the busy women’s center, allowing for higher predictability of delivery volumes and a more informed use of clinical resources.

“Like many great companies, HCA Healthcare is consistently looking for ways to evolve and improve the experiences of our patients and colleagues,” said Bill Rutherford, executive vice president and chief financial officer of HCA Healthcare. “Through Judy’s work, her hospital has benefited from quicker, data-driven decision-making that helps improve patient care.” 

HCA Healthcare Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients

HCA Healthcare’s more than 95,000 knowledgeable and compassionate nurses are on the front line of patient care, every day. Created in 2014, the Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes the intrinsic value of the nursing practice in accomplishing HCA Healthcare’s goal of providing high quality of care to patients and communities. With categories for professional mentoring and compassionate care, the Excellence in Nursing Award recipients each receive a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice.

This year’s recipients are:

• John Lee Stroud, MSN, RN, director of clinical operations at Colleton Medical Center in Walterboro, South Carolina
• Jean Rendall, BSN, RN, an oncology nurse at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado.

“Nurses are the heart and soul of HCA Healthcare,” said Sammie Mosier, DHA, MA, BSN, NE-BC, senior vice president and chief nurse executive of HCA Healthcare. “It is an honor to celebrate this year’s recipients, who have shown extraordinary compassion and leadership to our hospitals, in addition to providing exceptional care every day.”

John “Lee” Stroud
Colleton Medical Center (Walterboro, South Carolina)

John “Lee” Stroud, MSN, RN, received the Excellence in Nursing Award in the Professional Mentoring category. Stroud has been a leading advocate for nurse mentorship and development at Colleton Medical Center since 2011.

Now director of clinical operations, Stroud has developed a mentorship program that provides additional support for nursing students, new nurses and patient care techs to help ensure the next generation of passionate and patient-centric nurses are more informed and better prepared to care for the specific needs of their patients.

As a testament to his mentorship abilities, many of his nurse supervisors have moved to leadership positions.

Jean Rendall
Sky Ridge Medical Center (Lone Tree, Colorado)

Jean Rendall, BSN, RN, received the Excellence in Nursing Award in the Compassionate Care category.

Often called “sunshine angel” by her oncology patients and peers, Rendall shows positivity and compassion to all who come in contact with her at Sky Ridge Medical Center.

A winner of multiple Daisy Awards, as well as the prestigious Daisy Team Award in 2022, Rendall puts patient care and comfort at the center of everything she does.

From field trips within the hospital to celebrating special occasions by hosting parties, Rendall is committed to creating memorable, positive experiences for her patients and their families.